slmjim+Z1BEBE post=850349For future reference, disassembly is much, much easier if the outer end of the piston is snapped off prior to removing the snap ring (circlip).
That would never have occurred to me. It certainly was a pain to the get the old piston out, even with the long nose snap ring pliers. However, it wasn't that bad putting it back together. I used those same snap ring pliers, and just pushed the piston in with a dowel to make more room for the pliers.
For the boot retaining ring, I tried to a few things. I tried a wrist pin, but the ID was too small. I tried 1/2" copper pipe, but that wasn't right either. Eventually I just used a rolled up piece of cardboard from a small box that was sitting on my bench. I had to poke it with a screwdriver to get it past the lip where the lever cutout is, but after that I pushed it down some more with the cardboard and it looks to be seated properly.
Another issue I had was with the lever stop eccentric adjuster. I bought an aftermarket eccentric bolt, but found an NOS rubber tube. Unfortunately when I tried to install the bolt, my fancy vintage rubber tube tore in halt. Oops. Fortunately I had been toying with an old Cox airplane engine the other day and had some silicone glow fuel line sitting on my bench. Turns out it's pretty much exactly the same size, but more compliant so it survived getting smashed around as I treaded in the eccentric bolt.
I think it's good to go now. I just hope it doesn't leak.